She didn't know what to do. As the sweat poured down her face, she crawled away from the gate of hell. The fire that ate away at her delicate skin, at her hands and at her throat. The metallic taste of blood and the ashes that scraped her nose. The fact that her father's corpse was now rotting away behind her. It was all too much.
Between broken sobs, she called out for her father;
Dad! Dad, please...
Whatever response came from that was muffled by the rainfall.
She forced herself to crawl away even though she didn't want to leave him behind. The heat that traveled through her body was now a dull ache that rang through her heart. Mud slipped through her clothing and her open cuts. Her blood stained the water beneath her, marking what should've been her grave. Her hands began to give up hope.
Irene.
The Carnation called to her.
Irene, where are you going?
She didn't dare look up. The Carnation stood beside her. She didn't have to look into that demon's face to know that its grin was worse than the stab of a thousand knives.
Why were you out so late? Being irresponsible now, are we?
She broke into sobs again, much to the Carnation's discontent.
Stop crying!
With its thorns, it pulled Irene's hair, tearing it from her scalp, leaving her already damaged skin to be torn apart like rubber. She tried to resist, screaming and kicking with the little strength she had left. It was useless.
Stop resisting!
It pulled harder, knocking her down completely, bringing it closer and closer to it's poisonous petals, waiting to tear her apart and let the Earth swallow her whole to be forgotten. More of her hair was ripped off, making it harder for the Carnation to bring her closer, to kill her. She remembered courage. She remembered hope. She tried to hold on, ignoring how her fingertips burned from being torn against the road in resistance. If she wanted a chance at living, she had to be strong.
That was when the sirens blared in the distance. The fire from the explosion had died down. The Carnation let go and sank back into the ground, never to be seen again. Not a petal was left behind. Not a trace of its roots or its sins. And everything went black.
It had happened again. Irene woke up sobbing loudly, hyperventilating, running her fingers through her hair and begging the Carnation to stay away.
"Get away from me!" she begged, with tears falling and staining her clothing. Her heartbeat thumped in her chest, tightening her ribs, suffocating her. Being so caught up trying to protect herself, she didn't even notice her older brother turning on the light and embracing her, rocking her back and forth.
"The Carnation tried to kill me," she sobbed, clutching onto her brother's shirt, feeling how his heartbeat also thumped with pain.
"I know, I know," he whispered, stroking her hair. He knew that it would take a while until she fell asleep again. He'd probably have to stay up for the rest of the night, as it was 4am and he couldn't possibly go back to sleep, but he didn't care.
"Is everything alright, Casper?" Mari called from the hallway.
"Yeah, everything's ok. Irene just had a nightmare again."
"Does she need a drink of water, or anything at all?"
"No, it's ok...it's fine. She'll go back to sleep in a few minutes."
YOU ARE READING
Daffodil's Sunshine
Romance(GXG) Time is the ruler of everyone. It pushes everyone forward against their will and prevents them from ever turning back. That is why Irene hated it. She wanted a chance to go back in time and prevent the Carnation from destroying their lives...b...
